VNA’s article on Vietnam’s G7 Summit participation published in Canada

The website of the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada on June 9 published an article of the Vietnam News Agency titled “Vietnam’s G7 Participation Opportunity to Build on Economic, Geostrategic Relationship with Canada.”

The article was published on the occasion of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s attendance at the Group of Seven (G7) Outreach Summit and visit to Canada from June 8 – 10 at the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The article said PM Phuc’s attendance at the G7 in Quebec from June 8-10 at the invitation of PM Justin Trudeau is of special significance as the two countries hold various activities to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Vietnam and Canada elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Partnership during Trudeau’s official visit to Vietnam in November 2017. The move not only demonstrates the resolve of the two countries’ leaders to strengthen bilateral friendship and cooperation, but also creates a driving force for the substantive and effective development of bilateral ties with multi-faceted benefits to both countries.

Two-way trade and investment is considered an important momentum for the Vietnam-Canada relationship, with both sides attaching importance to promoting trade and investment exchanges in key sectors. Currently, Vietnam is an important market for Canadian products such as buckwheat, canola oil, lentil seeds, farm produce and seafood, while Canada is importing mobile phones and electronic appliances from Vietnam, it said.

With bilateral trade enjoying an average annual growth of 20-25 percent, Vietnam has been Canada’s biggest trade partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 2015. The two countries have set a target of raising two-way trade to 10 billion USD a year in the next 10 years, from the nearly 5 billion USD in 2017.

Canada now ranks 14th among 112 nations and territories investing in Vietnam, with 149 projects worth a total of 4.1 billion USD. It is also one of the leading official development assistance (ODA) providers for Vietnam, with over 800 million CAD (618 million USD) allocated to Vietnam since 1990. Canada’s ODA is focused on helping Vietnam enhance its capacity to better respond to non-traditional security challenges, including climate change, environmental issues, sustainable development, and new-style rural development.

According to the article, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which both countries are members, is expected to open up even more opportunities and markets for their goods, and allow both countries to help each other access regional and world markets. The CPTPP will create a level playing field and expand bilateral trade flows through tax cuts for each other’s products.

Education-training is also a bright spot in bilateral ties, with the number of Vietnamese students in Canada doubled in the past 10 years, making Vietnam the top country in ASEAN in terms of students in Canada. In recent years, Canada has stepped up educational promotion and collaboration with Vietnam’s educational institutions to attract more Vietnamese students. Many scholarship programmes have been carried out and proved effective, it added.

Indeed, Vietnam has been a priority partner of Canada in Asia in its three important policies: the Global Markets Action Plan, the International Education Strategy, and the development assistance policy. Strong development in education and training co-operation has helped promote people-to-people diplomacy and contributed to mutual understanding. In addition, the diaspora community of around 250,000 Vietnamese people in Canada is serving as an important bridge to help tighten bilateral cooperation in all fields.

Defence-security collaboration has been stepped up as well, in conformity with the comprehensive partnership framework. Most recently, Canadian Minister of National Defence Harjit Singh Sajjan paid a visit to Vietnam from June 4-6 to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in areas of mutual concern such as the defence industry, personnel training, and UN peacekeeping missions.

In the Joint Statement issued during PM Justin Trudeau’s official visit to Vietnam in November 2017, the two countries’ leaders agreed to enhance the bilateral cooperation and friendship in a comprehensive, substantive, effective, stable, and sustainable manner, bilaterally, regionally as well as internationally, in order to meet the two countries’ interests and to contribute to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia Pacific and around the world.

In this context, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Canada will help deepen the bilateral Comprehensive Partnership, helping step up cooperation opportunities in various fields and develop bilateral ties in a more practical, intensive, and effective manner, the article concluded.